Reality Check: Where Does 'Idol' Season 13 Rank? + 'Voice' Finale, More (VIDEO)
TVLine.com's Michael Slezak returns with American Idol Season 6 finalist Melinda Doolittle for the season finale of Reality Check, dissecting the week in reality singing competitions!
For this season finale, Michael and Melinda speculate on where American Idol XIII ranks within the Idol pantheon. Was it the worst season, a bottom three season, a surprisingly good season, or somewhere in the middle? The episode also looks back on Caleb Johnson's win, Jena Irene's stellar finale performances, and J-Lo's unbelievably weird vocals during the Judges' Performance. In addition, the hosts get into what's wrong with Idol, and what the show NEEDS to do for Season 14 if it's going to have even the slightest hope of sticking around past 2015. Michael and Melinda then transition to The Voice, and examine whether we got the right winner this season, some rough spots in the finale performance show, and the future of Christina Grimmie. We also get an examination into some of the things The Voice does better than Idol, and vice-versa. Basically, it's a hell of a season finale for Reality Check, so check out the full video below via TVLine:
Credit: TVLine.com
THOUGHTS
I couldn't possibly agree more with the differences between The Voice and American Idol, and why both shows work in their respective ways, but aren't really comparable. The Voice does a better job of casting potential winners, loading up its talent roster in such a way that, once live shows start, it's conceivable that just about anyone could win. American Idol, however, is much better at casting personalities, people whose talent is perhaps less undeniable, but who are endearingly flawed. Idol is the personality-driven show at the occasional expense of raw talent, while The Voice is talent-driven at the expense of personalities. Granted, I don't have trouble naming all six Voice winners like Melinda does, but I couldn't tell you the final four/three from every season like I'd be able to for Idol, because Voice contestants don't leave much of a lasting impression unless they win -- and even then, it's iffy. This isn't to cast aspersions against the talents themselves, but rather the show's difficulty in allowing us time to get to know any of these contestants, as we go from blind auditions to the clustered business of Battle Rounds, and then to live shows that the series seems intent on racing through at the speed of light. The show is inherently far more about the judges and mentors than about the contestants, so it's disheartening to see Idol slowly begin to adopt that model, as we focus more on the antics of Harry, J-Lo, and Keith. Granted, I'd still argue we ended up getting to know these contestants a lot better than even the winner of this season of The Voice.
I don't really have much more to say about the finale of either show than has already been said other than to add that if J-Lo does come back for Season 14, these long, ridiculous close-ups during performances NEED TO STOP. I don't mean to be hyperbolic, but hot damn, that was my least favorite part of this season. Nobody would have remembered half the great performances this show produced if the editors spent 80% of its time focused on Paula. J-Lo is pretty and nice to look at and all, but save the fawning closeups for when it doesn't feel like the contestant is getting shortchanged in the bargain.
What do you think of this week's episode? Agree or disagree? Sound off in the comments!